Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Well, Hollywood is revving up for the Indiana Jones family. They are going to Hollywood one more time to give vulnerable authors false hopes that a blockbuster movie could be made from one of their books if they are willing to shell out hundreds of dollars. Usually on these trips, they pack up the family as you can see on the website under the ‘Hollywood” button. It’s sort of like the Clampetts do Hollywood. There’s Brien and Brandy, Brien’s mom, cousin, and daughter. Well, at least it’s a family affair, although I hesitate in using the term “affair” loosely when I speak of Brien and Hollywood.

Anyway, this year’s offer is different than last year’s. Last year, the letter started with “Hollywood For Real.” It stated that “no one is making a movie out of one of our books—not yet. However, we have made three trips to Hollywood and we are closer than any other self publisher has ever been.” Now that’s really remarkable, I must say. I say that because it is now a year later and they are still no closer now than they were a year ago to getting anyone’s book turned into a movie. Even though I was assured by the author of “Rock with Rodney and Party with Perky” that Brien Jones had found four producers interested in her movies, so far, not one taker. Perhaps that’s why the “revised version” of the book has been “under production” for the past five months on his website because it’s now been extended to add a new concept on the cover: Bush’s anti-environmental report. When the author told me about the four productions companies that Jones had interested last summer, I checked them on the Internet and didn’t have any luck in finding them. Me of little faith, right? So then I called the man who is the organizer of the event and asked him if those companies attended, and he said he never heard of them either. When I reported the findings back to the author in hopes that she would wake up to the scam, she blasted me by posting on Brien’s blog that she spoke to the companies herself. That was different than her original story of telling me that Brien Jones gave her the name of the companies. But you know how it goes in Hollywood—fiction is always a big hit.

In last year’s offer, authors were promised that they would have their book, as well as their picture, featured on a site called “booktopictures.com.” When I checked out that website, it didn’t exist; however, it did redirect me to a site called “bootypictures.com.” All of this was available for “just $350.00.” But there was so much more! For a mere $500.00 additional dollars, they were willing to submit your book to one of two Hollywood producers and provide you with a resume and contact information for both executives. I think those of us who survived the Airleaf scandal will remember the kinds of producers the books were submitted to. They ranged from companies like Litestone Entertainment headed by Al Smith which lied about producing 30 books into movies, including his trailer that never became a book “Jessie’s Girl” to a company called Cinemagic which magically disappeared back to Japan. Ask me if I believe that there are not hundreds of scam artist producers waiting in Hollywood for vulnerable authors to shell out money. I’ve already spoken to half a dozen of them while fighting for our author victims. Anyway, that deal must have gone sour because it’s not even being offered this year.

And now Jones Harvest is offering to turn authors’ books into screenplays for free. One of my Airleaf author victims said Brien called her and offered to turn her book into a screenplay for free. This way it might sell better to the film people.

Remarkably, hundreds of emails went out to our Airleaf victims this past week from Jones Harvest offering to sell their books for free. In this letter, Jones states:

No charge, no obligation. No strings attached. I'll put the book on our websites today and even make a few calls. If you send me books, I’ll try to put them in stores. (Again, no charge, no obligation.)

All you have to do is send me a copy or copies of your book or email me the cover. I worked at Airleaf Publishing through 2006, (they closed in 2008) and I just want to help out if I can.http://www.myauthorspace.com/

http://www.jonesharvest.com/

http://www.starredreview.com/

http://www.authorgifts.com/

http://www.bookwheat.com/

http://www.myauthorprofile.com/

http://www.brienjones.com/

He did manage to leave out some of his other untraveled sites like Great Concept Books, Bargain Basement Books (doesn’t that sound uplifting?), Author Soldier, and his two Christian sites, Perfect Heart and Chosen Few. I keep reminding people that the only one who views those sites is me—trying to reach unsuspecting authors of the outrageous scam they are part of for thousands of dollars.

This short statement in itself was a lie. Brien was trying to put a two-year wedge between his leaving Airleaf and the close of Airleaf. Jones left in the beginning of 2007, and Airleaf closed 11 months later in December of 2007. Actually it was the same year. But that’s Brien Jones—trying to mislead the public again.

I sent out a email blast to my list of over 500 Airleaf victims warning them about working with the King of Con. To say the Brien Jones doesn’t do anything for free is truly an understatement. Brien Jones doesn’t do much for people who pay him thousands of dollars. Look at all the authors that paid him money to be featured in a color catalogue to be given out at the book fairs. There was no catalogue. And when they asked him back for their money, he told them that he doesn’t have money. And why doesn’t he have money? Not because he can’t keep fooling the same victims who were taken once or twice because they realize that they are donating to the Jones family charity and want to redirect their contributions. Not because he screwed so many printers that they won’t print for him anymore. Not because his production and sales crew quit because of his fraudulence. Not because people don’t get their books after waiting for a year or two or have to send back galley after galley. No—he’s broke because of Bonnie Kaye. He can’t afford to publish his books but he can afford to pay for a website called “Bonnie Kaye Lies” where he puts his blog letters of support from five or six authors on there along with his own commentaries libeling me.

But what he forgets is that I am doing this work out of a mission to protect our authors who put their money, hopes, and dreams into a con game, not because I make any money. I have never accepted a dime from an author even though many have offered to support my efforts. He can’t hurt me. I don’t offer anything but the truth and help to authors. On the other hand, I am hurting him by telling the truth. This is why I now have 63 verified complaints about the tens of thousands of dollars that authors have lost and will never see again. You see, in the end, the truth speaks for itself. When authors receive royalty checks once a year for $1.35 or $6.25 after investing so much money, they know that what I speak is the truth. It doesn’t matter how many of the Jones Harvest websites these authors are featured on—no one is looking except me as I mentioned earlier.

Lee Goldberg, the renowned author and columnist, stated in a blog last week written by Victoria Strauss, my predatory publishing guru, about the Hollywood scam that his gardener has more contacts with Hollywood executives than Brien Jones because at least he mows the lawns for some of them. If you want to shell out money, maybe we can ask the gardener to drop off your book while he’s at one of these jobs. He is actually closer to them than the Jones Harvest family will ever be.